“There are two types of people in this world, those who bring you UP or those who bring you DOWN. Be the UP.“
-P.J. Fleck
Co-Author with John Gordon of the book Row The Boat PJ Fleck encourages us in today’s quote to be the up in the world where we bring others up instead of bringing them down. Julia Davenport wrote an article for Linked In in 2017 stating the advantages of being the up in the world. Advantages to being the one to do this are many as you can build trust with others. This trust leads towards strengthening the relationship with others while improving the quality of work being done. It helps to hold not only a high level of accountability but also a higher level of collaboration and cooperation. She went on to list 8 tips for liftng people up:
- Take pride in people’s potential. Don’t make the mistake of just focusing on their weaknesses. Help them raise their performance to a higher standard.
- Be brave enough to face up to challenging situations and deal with them honestly. Find the balance between care and candor. Giving constructive feedback through a harder conversation can sometimes be what’s needed for growth. But be mindful of the person AND their potential
- Show you care. To earn people’s trust you need to show people that you care about them. Let people know that you’re interested in them as people and in their career paths and discuss with them regularly.
- Let people do their jobs. Provide the right tools and support to make them better at it. You have to show faith believe in their capabilities to deliver. It’s ok to be a mentor but you need to know when to simply be the facilitator
- Encourage people to innovate. Ideation is important, but being on a team or project where ideas come to life is pretty exciting and can be a meaningful growth opportunity.
- Commit to lifelong learning yourself. You can learn from anyone
- Creating a compelling vision. Purpose, not just profit, is often what motivates people, so talk about significance not just success. Let them know how their work makes a difference to the wider community.
- Go beyond accountability. Giving ownership inspires trust – it means that you have shared your authority. You’re allowing others to call the shots based on what they believe is in the best interest of the team or business.
These 8 tips can help lead us all towards a better tomorrow: together.
What does this quote mean to you and how can you apply today’s message towards becoming more socially aware?
Becoming The Change 